Tag Archives: philosophy

Is Consciousness Fundamental?

Introduction

About a year ago, I wrote an article called The Essence of Life: Two Potential Models. In that article, I explained that all the matter around us, which includes the bodies and brains of living beings, are made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons. These fundamental particles “swap out” all the time, and yet we still are who we are; our consciousness doesn’t change as the particles change. From this, it was posited that consciousness (or our “souls”) doesn’t reside in our matter, but from the arrangement of the matter, or the exact way that memories and experiences are chemically stored in the brain. Continue reading Is Consciousness Fundamental?

Progress Comes in Bursts

In a previous post (Quality over Quantity), I mentioned my fondness for a book by George Leonard called Mastery. In that book he outlines that progress in any field can feel linear, but there will be a plateau. The plateau is unavoidable, but it does ultimately end if you stick with whatever you are trying to master. Then comes another period of linear growth (a burst), followed by a slight dip in skill, followed by another plateau. Onwards and upwards. It looks something like this:

mastery, skill, burst of progress

Continue reading Progress Comes in Bursts

The Philosophy of Life – Part 1: Expectations

Introduction

In the short time that Sustainable Balance has been around, Graham has written extensively about our bodies and the physical world around us, about how the two interact with and influence one another.

While understanding our bodies and the physical world around us is undeniably of critical importance for our overall wellbeing, the same must be said about our minds. Indeed, the two are intimately connected; two parts of the same whole, both instrumental and complimentary to how we experience and interact with the world. Continue reading The Philosophy of Life – Part 1: Expectations

The Essence of Life: Two Potential Models

Introduction – The Fabric of Life:

Everything on Earth, and every other planet, is made up of the same matter. The fabric of life is the particles making up all matter in the universe, including the physical forms of living beings. These particles (simplified) are protons, neutrons, and electrons, with the energy coursing through these particles being massless photons (particles of energy or light). These three (or four, including photons) particles are responsible for chemistry as we know it. Continue reading The Essence of Life: Two Potential Models

The Context of Vices

 Featured photo courtesy of Dave Stokes.

Anyone who knows me knows me as a very health-conscious guy, but not a guy free of vices.  I promote habits that produce happy, healthy, strong, productive people, but in the right context I also promote some activities that directly oppose my usual recommendations.

Am I inconsistent?  Maybe, but really it’s all part of the plan.